On Monday, Hessen’s Digital Minister Kristina Sinemus presented a study on the status of the information and communications industry (ICT) in Hessen in Frankfurt. The study also highlights the importance of data centres for Hessen’s economy.
In 2021, the ICT sector in Hessen employed more than 120,000 people – which amounts to more than the automotive (66,000) and mechanical engineering (50,000) sectors combined. According to the authors of the study, this is also reflected in the total turnover: between 2015 and 2019, the ICT sector showed an annual growth rate of 8.6 percentage points and – after a stagnation in 2020 due to the crisis – is now once again growing significantly. In 2022, a turnover of 39 billion Euro was most likely generated.
“Hessen is the top German location for data centres,” says Kristina Sinemus. “Here in particular, the industry can show what sustainable data centres of the future can look like.” This also prompts the ambitious goal of the digital minister to develop Hessen into the Silicon Valley of Europe.
The study presentation was hosted by Béla Waldhauser, Chief Executive Officer of Telehouse Deutschland GmbH and Spokesperson for the eco Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany: “An efficient digital infrastructure is the backbone of all industries and thus of the entire economy in Hessen and in the German Federal Republic,” says Waldhauser. “Without the further rollout of this infrastructure, we risk losing our digital sovereignty.” As Waldhauser went on to say, more sustainable digitalisation will significantly contribute to the German federal government achieving its climate protection goals.
